Maybe McCain should debate Symington

Published: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 at 12:03 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 at 12:03 p.m.

A 10/9/97 letter from Sen. John McCain to a constituent about the so-called Phoenix Lights is making the Internet rounds (at http://frankwarren.blogspot.com/2008/02/senator-john-mccain-tasked-air-force-to.html) just in time for next month’s anniversary commemoration in Scottsdale. But to the amazement of Dr. Lynn Kitei, no one has bothered to press the de facto Republican presidential nominee for an updated response.

Kitei is a Phoenix physician whose world view went sideways when an apparent V-shaped UFO surprised untold numbers of Arizonans on the evening of March 13, 1997. Kitei had seen and even photographed strange lights in the night sky two months earlier, but the mass sightings on that date ultimately drew her into the limelight as a lead investigator.

Kitei’s work wound up in a documentary and a book by the same name, “The Phoenix Lights.” On the 11th anniversary of that event, she’ll be unveiling an expanded version of the doc that features, among other things, a commercial airline pilot eyewitness and a 911 dispatcher who’ll reportedly reveal how police helicopters were involved in the drama.

Not unlike the Stephenville, Tex., UFO incident on Jan. 8 this year, the military initially denied it had planes in the air that night. But McCain reported to a letter writer that an official at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson assured him the lights were flares dropped by A-10s from a visiting Maryland National Guard unit, from an altitude of 15,000 feet, from roughly 9:30 to 10 p.m.

But according to Kitei’s timeline, people reported seeing the UFO from as early as 5 p.m. to as late as 2 a.m., with the bulk of the sightings rolling in from 8:30 p.m. to 9:40 p.m.

The story has morphed since then, most notably with the testimony of former Arizona guv Fife Symington. In 1997, when he was still in office, Symington ridiculed the reports. Last year, he reversed himself, claimed he was an eyewitness to something “enormous and inexplicable” (see http://www.freedomofinfo.org/news/symington-story.pdf), and flatly discounted the military flares explanation.

Symington has since become a public advocate for government disclosure; in November, he introduced an international cast of likeminded pilots and aviation authorities to the National Press Club in Washington.

The media has given McCain a pass on this whopper of a national security issue that asserted itself in his own back yard. Fox News’ Chris Wallace playfully asked McCain in November if he’d ever seen a UFO during his Navy pilot career (“I can't say that I did, but I kept looking all the time”), but clearly the MSM doesn’t have the chops for an extended conversation.

“I’m really surprised that nobody has pinned him down, or even tried to,” says Kitei. “If anything, interest in what happened has just been growing and growing. Too many people have seen and are seeing things.”

Maybe, like Symington, McCain will come out of the closet once his political career is over. In the meantime, just for the hell of it, you can reach the Senator at: John McCain 2008, P.O. Box 16118, Arlington, VA 22215, 703-418-2008.

<p>A 10/9/97 letter from Sen. John McCain to a constituent about the so-called Phoenix Lights is making the Internet rounds (at http://frankwarren.blogspot.com/2008/02/senator-john-mccain-tasked-air-force-to.html) just in time for next month’s anniversary commemoration in Scottsdale. But to the amazement of Dr. Lynn Kitei, no one has bothered to press the de facto Republican presidential nominee for an updated response.</p><p>Kitei is a Phoenix physician whose world view went sideways when an apparent V-shaped UFO surprised untold numbers of Arizonans on the evening of March 13, 1997. Kitei had seen and even photographed strange lights in the night sky two months earlier, but the mass sightings on that date ultimately drew her into the limelight as a lead investigator.</p><p>Kitei’s work wound up in a documentary and a book by the same name, The Phoenix Lights. On the 11th anniversary of that event, she’ll be unveiling an expanded version of the doc that features, among other things, a commercial airline pilot eyewitness and a 911 dispatcher who’ll reportedly reveal how police helicopters were involved in the drama.</p><p>Not unlike the Stephenville, Tex., UFO incident on Jan. 8 this year, the military initially denied it had planes in the air that night. But McCain reported to a letter writer that an official at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson assured him the lights were flares dropped by A-10s from a visiting Maryland National Guard unit, from an altitude of 15,000 feet, from roughly 9:30 to 10 p.m.</p><p>But according to Kitei’s timeline, people reported seeing the UFO from as early as 5 p.m. to as late as 2 a.m., with the bulk of the sightings rolling in from 8:30 p.m. to 9:40 p.m.</p><p>The story has morphed since then, most notably with the testimony of former Arizona guv Fife Symington. In 1997, when he was still in office, Symington ridiculed the reports. Last year, he reversed himself, claimed he was an eyewitness to something enormous and inexplicable (see http://www.freedomofinfo.org/news/symington-story.pdf), and flatly discounted the military flares explanation.</p><p>Symington has since become a public advocate for government disclosure; in November, he introduced an international cast of likeminded pilots and aviation authorities to the National Press Club in Washington.</p><p>The media has given McCain a pass on this whopper of a national security issue that asserted itself in his own back yard. Fox News’ Chris Wallace playfully asked McCain in November if he’d ever seen a UFO during his Navy pilot career (I can't say that I did, but I kept looking all the time), but clearly the MSM doesn’t have the chops for an extended conversation.</p><p>I’m really surprised that nobody has pinned him down, or even tried to, says Kitei. If anything, interest in what happened has just been growing and growing. Too many people have seen and are seeing things.</p><p>Maybe, like Symington, McCain will come out of the closet once his political career is over. In the meantime, just for the hell of it, you can reach the Senator at: John McCain 2008, P.O. Box 16118, Arlington, VA 22215, 703-418-2008.</p>